John K. Lee

|Senior Lecturer

Academic Appointments

Senior Lecturer

John Kemp Lee received his creative training at Dartmouth College, The Maine College of Art, and the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Fine Art. His work has been widely exhibited in the United States and abroad. He has shown work at the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the National Academy, and is represented by the Kouros Gallery in Ridgefield, CT.

Lee has been part of the Dartmouth Studio Art Department since 1984, and teaches classes in Sculpture, Drawing, Printmaking, and Senior Seminar. Lee's teaching philosophy is quite simple: to create is to be human, and to be human is to think and act creatively. The purpose is to learn to really see, while others are merely looking. When we create, we are asked to engage in wonder, to speculate, to observe, to play, and to communicate without the limits and divisiveness of the spoken word.

Working from direct observation of the internal and external landscapes (while maintaining the desire and obligation to mitigate, transform, personalize, and to inspire), creativity is an essential language common to all cultures.

Materiality, especially in the digital age, will always be emphasized. What is the nature of choice, (intellectual, emotional, physical, and formal) and how do our choices affect our ability to advance an idea, and to share our thoughts and emotions with others?

Ultimately, all creative endeavors ask, "who am I, and how do I fit in?"

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